| " T R I T O N . " |

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"Lana. Get up, darling. We are arriving at the Capitol." Reena says, shaking me. What is it with people shaking me to get me up? It makes me mad. I mean, learn to talk, not shake. It gets annoying after a while, especially since it's a Capitol citizen trying to wake me.

"I'm up, Reena," I snap with an exasperated sigh. "Where are my clothes?" I ask, looking up at her. She smiles down at me, and hands me some black leggings with a mesh top, and a biker leather jacket.

"Oh, I almost forgot." She says, and hands me some black pumps. I look up at her with a raised eyebrow, and an evident frown on my face.

"Don't you think this is a little bit too much black?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"You must have a color scheme within your clothing. It suits you better." She says hurriedly, leaving the room.

I huff, and change quickly. I brush out my hair, leaving it in my normal blonde waves. I walk out of the room, finish putting on my red lipstick, and wonder how my bedroom door got open. It was locked when I went to sleep last night . . .

I shrug it off, and walk into the dining area of the train.

"Just in time, princess." Paul says as I walk into the room. I roll my eyes. I'm still mad at Bane and Paul from what happened last night. As we get off of the train, Bane pulls me close to him. I cock an eyebrow at him. "Don't want you to get drug into the hoard of Capitol fans, do we?" He asks. I scoff, and yank myself away from him.

I strut, yes strut, my way into the building that we will be staying in. Bane sighs, and follows me in. As soon as I step into the room, cheers and screams erupt from the people of the Capitol. I can't believe this.

Smile and wave, you'll get more sponsors. I tell myself. I agree with my conscious, and smile and wave at them. And I could swear that at least half of the people get louder. Roses are being thrown at me.

Then a light bulb goes off in my head. Paul, Leo, Krystal, Reena, and Bane watch as I walk to a section of the people. They reach for me, but I have no idea why. I'm a normal girl. I wrap my arms around some of them, and take some pictures of them. I give some of them my autograph.

I walk up to a single boy that's about my age, one that looks the most normal from all the Capitol citizens. I give him a kiss on the cheek, and my red lipstick leaves a mark.

He surprises me from what happens next. He faints. I give the people a wave one more time, and walk back to where Paul, Krystal, and Leo stand, looking impressed. Bane on the other hand, looks slightly mad. But why would he be mad? I shrug it off.

"Okay, so when are we going to our headquarters?" I ask Reena.

"Actually, right now, dearie." She says cheerfully. "Follow me." She says to Bane and I. She takes us into an elevator, and presses button number 2. I guess they base the floors on the Districts, considering that there are 13 floors, well other than this one. I hope I get sponsors. I will definitely need them if I don't have allies.

I feel bad for leaving Bane to ally with the careers, but he wanted them as allies anyway. I don't know why he even wants to. I mean, yeah, we are from the Career District, but that doesn't mean we have to be on their team. Most of the Careers are blood thirsty murderers. It makes me sick that they like to kill people. Especially children.

I just don't know how Bane doesn't see that they'll turn against him, and kill him. As soon as he turns his head, they'll kill him. I would rather die alone, than die and hurt someone I care about. That's why I can't get attached. I'll be the first one to die anyway.

I'm weak compared to these buff careers.

But if I hide out long enough, I might win. But I seriously doubt it. I pull myself from my thoughts when the elevator door opens, granting us access into our new house for the next couple of weeks. It's not bad. I make my way to the couch, and slouch onto it.

"I hate this place," I groan, looking at the ceiling.

"I do, too," Paul says. "It reminds me of my games. But we have to stay here." He adds, taking the seat next to me. Bane takes the opportunity to sit on the other side of me.

"Lana, I'm really sorry about yest-" Reena cuts Bane off.

"Come, come. We have breakfast to attend to." Reena rushes, yanking me to the dining area. I groan, and Bane sighs. When we sit down, Bane sits next to me, once again.

Paul, Krystal, and Leo sit across from us, and Reena sits on the other side of me. I put very little food on my plate, not being hungry.

"So, have you been thinking about your allies?" Paul asks the both of us.

"Yeah, I have actually. I don't want any allies. End of discussion," I say through gritted teeth. Paul shakes his head in disapproval.

"I'm being completely serious. Without allies and sponsors, you won't make it a day in that hell hole of an arena," Paul says sternly, his eyes growing cold. Once he realizes what he's said, his eyes turn soft. "Lana, I didn't mean-" He starts, but I cut him off.

"N-no I completely understand. I won't have sponsors or allies. So I guess I'll die on the first day. Because I totally can't protect myself. I know I'll die, but it doesn't make it any better that everyone else, including my mentors, think that I won't make it. So thank you, Paul. You've made me lose completely all of my confidence of ever winning these games." I snap.

"Lana, I . . . " Bane starts, but drifts off.

"You'll what? Protect me? Bane, you're a natural killer. You've trained for years, while I've got barely any training. In the end, you can't let me slow you down. Just let me die in that arena, and f-forget about me. That's what everyone was going to do anyway." I say softly. I stand up from my chair, and leave my breakfast.

I walk to the elevator, and no one protests as I press the button to the lobbie. I let tears fill my eyes as I leave the elevator, when the door opens. I walk to the font desk to find a Capitol lady. Her pink and blue makeup scare me. She looks like a clown. Litterally.

"Um, hello. Do you have a training room? I was wondering if I could blow off some steam." I say. She smiles.

"Yes, we do. Congratulations on being a new tribute. Go down the first hall, and take a right." She says. I give her a smile again, but as I turn away from her, the tears spill. I walk down the first hallway, and without looking, I bump into a hard chest.

"S-sorry," I apologize, looking to the floor.

"That's okay," A deep voice says with a slight chuckle. I look up to him, and my jaw almost drops.

He's gorgeous. His brown curls frame his face, and his brown eyes sparkle. I know who he is, well I've saw him before when I watched the reapings. That's where I'm familiar with him. But I forgot his name. "Oh, you're Lana from District two, right?"

I nod. "That's me," I smile. He holds out his hand and I shake it.

"I'm Triton. District one." He introduces with a warm, heart stopping smile. I really want to kiss him right now.

"Cool." I reply awkwardly. He laughs slightly, but grins.

"Where are you heading, Ana?" He asks. My eyes widen. "Oh, well, sorry. I was just thinking I could make a nickname for you." He adds, earning a nod from me.

"Okay. And I'm heading to the training center. I just have to blow off some steam." I explain.

"Actually, I think I'll join you." He says.

"O-okay." I stutter nervously. I walk into the training center, and take in my surroundings.

There are stations everywhere. Knives, spears, arrows, knots, fires, tridents, edible foods, survival skills, camouflage, hand to hand combat, swords, and axes.

Wow.

"So, which weapon do you use?" He asks. I blush in embarrassment, not meeting his gaze.

"I don't use any. I haven't trained, and I can barely use a knife. I know it's pathetic, I'm a disgrace to District two," I sigh, letting a lone tear roll down my cheek. Triton lifts my chin up so I'm looking him in the eyes.

"You're not a disgrace to anyone. You're a career, and I intend for us to be allies. I will help you train until you feel comfortable with at least two weapons." He says gently. I look into his eyes, and somehow get lost in them. He pulls me into his arms, and hugs me. I'm surprised at first, but embrace him back.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"For what?" He questions.

"For giving me hope." We pull away, and he smiles at me again.

"C'mon, lets go practice." He takes my hand in his as he walks me over to the knives area. "Try throwing this, and hitting the chest on that dummy."

I take the small knife, and nod. I let out a deep breath, and focus. In an instant, I fling the knife into the air as hard as I can. It twirls in the air, and lands right in the middle of the target.

Oh my god.

"Oh my gosh!" I yell in excitement.

"Good job. Try again with a bigger knife." Triton encourages me with a smirk. It's not a 'you can't do this' smirk, it's a 'I knew you could do this' smirk.

I grab the bigger knife, and twirl it around on my finger. I let go, and watch it glide in the air, hitting the chest of the dummy, once again.

"Yes!" I yell in victory.

"Well, since you're good at knives, lets train you with some other weapons. Lets try swords." He says, handing me one as we walk to the different station. "Swords are different. You don't let them twirl, you let them glide. That's how it works. Got it?"

"Yeah. Where do you want me to hit it?" I ask. He thinks for a moment.

"Forehead." He says. I nod. I take a step back, and grip the sword tightly. I breath in, forgetting everything else around me, only letting the dummy wander in my mind. I clench my jaw, and send the sword flying into the forehead of the dummy. To my shock, the dummy's whole head is sent into the wall along with the sword. The sword is struck in the wall, with the head attached in the center of it. I hit the forehead perfectly.

"That's amazing!" Triton says, high facing me. "Well, you've got swords and knives done. Let's see if you can work a trident."

"Okay." I say, walking to the other booth with him.

"This is my weapon choice. It took me a couple of years to finally hit the target, so don't be upset if you can't get it. But first, I'll show you how to use it." He says. I watch closely as he throws the heavy trident into the chest of the dummy effortlessly. He grins steadily at me, and hands me the trident. It weighs me down. I lift it up, steadily, and hurl it at the dummy. I'm shocked to see that I hit the target perfectly.

"Holy shit," Triton mutters in awe.

"YAY!" I squeal and jump into his arms. He chuckles, and wraps his arms around my waist tightly.

"Lana?"

Oh god.

I'm so screwed.

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